ESE, Inc. Earns CSIA Certification for Fifth Time

ESE, Inc., a Marshfield, Wis., control system integration company that designs and develops plant automation systems for the food and beverage industry, was recently recertified by the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) as a certified system integrator. ESE has been CSIA certified since 2005.

ESE was part of a selected set of system integrators approached by CSIA to volunteer in a test group for the new, more demanding version of its certification and audit process. After successful completion and finalization of the new version, it will now be used throughout the CSIA membership.

“There is a high level of professionalism, discipline, quality, and efficiency that goes into our internal operations to achieve certified status,” said Michael Richart, president and CEO. “And when we apply these traits to our wide range of services in the food and beverage industry, we can provide value that is truly beneficial for our customers.”

CSIA certification is a rigorous process that includes a two-day independent audit and identifies a company’s long-term commitment to quality and longevity in the industry. ESE demonstrated its adherence to CSIA’s comprehensive best practices in ten key areas through the audit, including general management; human resources management; marketing, business development and sales management; financial management; project management; system development lifecycle; supporting activities; quality management; service and support; and information systems management and cyber security.

ESE is one of a few system integrators that specializes in the food and beverage industry that is CSIA certified and a Rockwell Automation Solution Partner. For more information, visit https://eseautomation.com.

Hygiena’s RiboPrinter Provides Alternative to Whole Genome Sequencing

White paper demonstrates that the RiboPrinter microbial characterization system works as a viable alternative to WGS.

Hygiena, a Camarillo, Calif.-based Warburg Pincus-portfolio company that specializes in rapid food safety and environmental sanitation testing, has issued a white paper demonstrating that the RiboPrinter microbial characterization system, which uses ribotyping to conduct “DNA fingerprinting” identification of bacteria to the strain level, works as a viable alternative to whole genome sequencing (WGS), the company said.

The white paper explores how WGS and ribotyping work and compares other techniques that have been used to identify microbes, particularly pathogens. While WGS has been adopted by federal regulators such as FDA, its widespread use in food safety has been limited by cost, the need for expertise, and management of data.

A September 2017 poll of 100 food processors showed that 93% of responding companies said they would not be using WGS. One reason for this reluctance is the cost of WGS technology and bioinformatics analysis, while another is the expertise needed to run the sequencing test as well as analyze the data. A third reason is that WGS may be too successful at identification. Any data uncovered would be legally discoverable and reportable to the FDA, whether it ultimately ends up pointing to a pathogen or not.

Ribotyping using the RiboPrinter System has been shown to be simple and automated enough that users do not need expertise in its underlying techniques. It is a powerful, cost-effective and labor-saving addition to any microbial analysis and could provide a valuable alternative to a WGS laboratory as an important component of an overall food safety plan to protect the world’s food supply against pathogens.

From the continuing investigation into the multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses linked to romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region, FDA issued an update stating that it continues to consider a viable explanation to be contaminated canal water coming into contact with produce. However, it also is looking at an animal feeding operation which is near a clustering of romaine lettuce farms.

On July 31 and August 1, 2018, FDA participated in a meeting of the Leafy Greens Food Safety Task Force that was formed in response to the outbreak that occurred earlier this year. FDA shared preliminary hypotheses from the Environmental Assessment in Yuma to facilitate conversations with state and local officials, industry and local growers on the hypotheses and associated actions necessary to prevent such an outbreak from occurring again.

As FDA has previously stated, samples of canal water have tested positive for the outbreak strain of E. coli and it continues to consider that contaminated water coming into contact with produce, either through direct irrigation or other means, is a viable explanation for the pattern of contamination. But other hypotheses were discussed as well. FDA notes that the canal is close to a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), a facility with a large number of cattle on the premises. The CAFO can hold in excess of 100,000 head of cattle at any one time and FDA traceback information showed a clustering of romaine lettuce farms nearby.

FDA is examining potential links between the CAFO, adjacent water, and geologic and other factors that may explain the contamination and its relationship to the outbreak. Additional sampling activities will be conducted to further explore and narrow down hypotheses in the near future. The agency’s findings will be detailed in a finalized environmental assessment report which will be made publicly available when complete.

USDA-ARS Scientist Develops More Definitive Food Profiles

Methods for analyzing food samples developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist in Maryland capture what could be considered the most definitive nutrient profiles possible for many of the foods we eat.

Craig Byrdwell, an analytical chemist in the ARS Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory in Beltsville, has found a way to use seven different detectors—four mass spectrometers and one gas and two liquid chromatographs—to determine exactly what nutrients are in the foods we eat—and at what levels. The achievement puts him at the forefront of scientific efforts to precisely measure nutritional values of foods.

Knowing the levels of nutrients in our foods is critical to ensuring that we get enough of them as well as coming up with dietary recommendations regarding those nutrients. Vitamin D, for instance, is added to most milk, breakfast cereals and some brands of orange juice, yogurt, margarine, and some soy beverages because it is important for healthy bones and teeth.

Byrdwell's methods are the reason why scientists can say with certainty that the amount of vitamin D in a fortified serving of milk, cheese, breakfast cereal, orange juice or a soy product is at the level where it should be.

Over the years, he also has corrected misperceptions among dietary experts about the vitamin D levels in oysters (they don't have as much vitamin D as early studies indicated), identified differences in vitamin D from fish oils versus lanolin, and developed improved nutrient profiles of nutritional supplements, kale, various fruit drinks and vegetable juices and the seed oil in soybeans.

Standard methods for determining a nutrient profile usually involve exposing food samples to ultraviolet light to read their chemical signatures. Ultraviolet light will reveal the presence of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids essential for human health. But Byrdwell says that in many cases, UV readings don't give an accurate picture of a specific compound, and that his approach reveals the molecular structure, or the isomers, of nutrients. Isomers are molecules with the same chemical formula but different chemical structures, and the structure is what determines the nutrient's "bioavailability," or how well it is likely to be absorbed by the human body.

Read more about this research in the March 2018 issue of AgResearch magazine.

Photo: ARS chemists Craig Byrdwell (foreground) and James Harnly review data from a process they used to analyze the amount of vitamin D in milk, orange juice, and dietary supplements.

Golden, Col.-based Meritech, an employee hygiene automation provider, has introduced Sole Clean Dry Step, a fully automated footwear sanitizing system for dry and semi-dry production facilities. Integrated with Meritech's CleanTech fully automated handwashing systems, the Sole Clean Dry Step sanitizes any style of footwear in 12 seconds. This new footwear hygiene technology features the automated application of a proprietary alcohol-quat chemical blend which sanitizes and then evaporates quickly post application to reduce moisture accumulation around the system, the company said.

Designed to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination from footwear, when the Sole Clean Dry Step is combined with Meritech's automated hand hygiene system, it provides a full employee hygiene protocol that is cGMP and compliant with all food safety standards and regulations, the company said. Meritech's CleanTech 2000 or 4000 automated hand hygiene systems can be integrated with the system so that each 12-second handwash also guarantees the elimination of pathogens on the soles of any type of footwear, it added. The system automatically recharges at intervals dependent on usage will reduce pathogens and cross contamination risks at production, visitor, delivery, and main entrances.

"Many times, our customers have asked for a footwear sanitizing solution that does not introduce excess moisture into their production environments," said Meritech President Michele Colbert. "We now have the perfect option for dry and semi-dry production facilities as our Sole Clean Dry Step can be employed as a high-quality footwear sanitizing option with either our CleanTech 2000S or 4000S model."

The Sole Clean Dry Step uses D2 EPA registered sanitizer for fast evaporation and can accommodate any style of footwear, so, the company said, it is ideal for use in food production and other dry environments where sanitizing boots or other footwear is equally important as proper hand hygiene, but a "dry" sanitizing system is required.

The system is the latest addition to the company's line of footwear hygiene solutions, all of which are fully automated, safe to use, easy to clean and maintain, and backed by a five-year warranty, the company said.